The History
The District of Columbia Youth Chorale (DCYC) revered for its unyieldingly high musical standards (A Point Beyond Excellence),) became the official city-wide chorus of the Washington, D.C. Public Schools under the direct supervision of Hortense Pace Taylor, Supervisor of Music. Founded in 1961 as Young Scholars with Special Gifts by Dr. Frances White Hughes, then a music teacher at Roosevelt High School. The group sang at the United States pavilion of the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, was also the core ensemble which sang as the Washington Festival Chorus on The Ed Sullivan Show. Under the subsequent leadership of Edward Jackson, director from 1966-1995. The DCYC continued to perform for prestigious occasions in major venues including The White House, John F. Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra, Constitution Hall, professional music conferences, a three-week concert tour in Romania as Cultural Ambassadors of the United States at the invitation of the Department of State, at the United States pavilion Expo ’74 (the 1974 World’s Fair in Spokane, Washington), and Warner Theater, among others. The DCYC returned from Mexico in 1979 with top honors in the Fiesta ’79 competition. This premiere ensemble represented the D.C. Public School System, Washington, D.C., and the United States of America for more than 30 years and ended with the retirement of Edward Jackson.
D.C. Youth Chorale (DCYC) at The World’s Fair 1964 or 74 in New York, New York.
Washington D.C. Festival Chorus "America Our Heritage" on The Ed Sullivan Show, August 17, 1969
Present day: Duke Ellington School of the Arts formerly known as Western High School.
Gail Robinson-Oturu and Monica Anderson Spencer
In 1975 when Western High School became Duke Ellington School of the Arts, the DCYC was funded and given a dedicated office and regular rehearsal space in the school, ending the need to move rehearsals from school to school. Gail Robinson-Oturu and Monica Anderson Spencer were brought on board to assist in managerial and administrative capacities. During that time, the DCYC expanded its program to include an elementary/junior high division under the direction of Yvette M. C. Holt at LaSalle Elementary School with Orff instruments and a dance component, an opera workshop under the direction of Talmage Fauntleroy, and an alumni chorale under William Jones as its first director. Multiple years, the DCYC secured funding for summer music enrichment programs held in different D.C. Public schools. All facets of the program were staffed with exemplary personnel including conductors/section leaders, Arphelius Paul Gatling, III, Samuel L. E. Bonds, Charlotte Bostic Douglas, Joyce Garrett, Yvette M.C. Holt; a host of outstanding collaborators including pianists Louis Finney, Percy Gregory, Attrus Fleming, Shelton Becton, Sharon Barron, Wesley Boyd, Richard Smallwood, Jane Fox, Salone Clary, Judith Grove Allen, Arphelius Paul Gatling, III (also Asst. Director), Tommy Tyler, Gwendolyn Jenifer and Nevilla Ottley, among others. Other outstanding musicians served as guests including pianist Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, trumpeter Langston Fitzgerald, jazz trumpeter Wallace Roney among others.
The positive impact of the DCYC remains impressive. DCYC alumni excel and are distinguished locally, nationally, and internationally in many professions. DCYC alumni, faculty, and staff continue to lead and make significant contributions in a wide spectrum of fields including the arts, education, administration, civil service, dentistry, medicine, Government, ministry, law, corporate America and others. Notable alumni include international opera singers Denyce Graves, the late Carmen Balthrop, and Wilma Shakesnider; School Superintendent Anthony Jackson, EdD; President, National Dentistry Association, Cheryl Lee, DDS; Broadway actor/singer/screenwriter Michael Genet, actress/singer Cheryl Freeman, actress Veronica Redd, popular recording artist Tony Terry; Alvin Ailey dancer Ralph Glenmore; award winning visual artists Schroeder Cherry; Jazz singer Debbie Davis; among many others.
The incredible strength worth and legacy of the DCYC program is a strong testament to the D.C. Public Schools System, Washington, DC and our nation. In honor of the 60th anniversary of the D.C. Youth Chorale founding, alumni and friends incorporated the D.C. Youth Chorale Legacy, a charitable and educational organization to commemorate, preserve and perpetuate healthy practices gleaned from the D. C. Youth Chorale.